In the U.S., most people who accept Christ do so before the age of 18. Though the image of the modern teen can conjure words such as “withdrawn” and “resistant,” many are actually open to hearing the Word of God. With this in mind, what can your church or organization do to reach out to local teens?
Partnering with local public-school Christian clubs can be an effective way to maximize this ministry. Students in these clubs have a wide-open mission field with a ready harvest. Not only are their peers watching them, but teachers and administrators are also observing what these Christians say and do. Though some may be uneasy about sharing Christ on campus, there are many legal ways to do outreach.
Recognizing this mission field, the California School Project (CSP), a non-profit organization in Southern California, has been mentoring Christian junior-high and high-school students for the past several years. They have helped students host 159 Christian rallies at schools throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. In four years, more than 3,600 students have heard the gospel, and more than 500 students have accepted Christ! Though sharing about Christ shouldn’t focus on numbers, these statistics do show the incredible opportunities to reach students on high-school campuses.
Recently, CSP has focused on improving communication with local churches, realizing the need for churches to come alongside students. Youth pastors and churches have played several roles in supporting ministry on public high-school campuses. Here are some suggestions to get your church started:
How do I get in touch with a Christian club at a local school?
Getting in touch with the Christian club and its leadership is an important step. After all, you’re helping them, not taking over their club! Here are some ways you can get in touch with your local school’s club:
• Talk to your youth group members. Which schools do they attend? Are any of them involved with a Christian club on campus? Use your contacts: Do any family members or friends go to local schools?
•Contact your local high school and see if there is a Christian club on campus. If there is, ask for the contact information for the club advisor. Give him or her a call.
•Is See You at the Pole or the National Day of Prayer coming up? Do the schools in your area meet to pray on these days? This might be a great opportunity to meet with the Christians on campus.
Once I contact them, what can I do?
Once you’ve contacted the club advisors, set up a meeting with the club leaders. Listen to their vision and plans for the year; offer your assistance where you can. If necessary, help the club brainstorm some ideas for outreach. Here are five suggestions for how you can help out:
1. Have a youth pastor be a guest speaker at a Christian rally or club meeting.
Christian clubs have the same rights as other clubs on campus, so if other clubs hold a rally, the Christian club can, too. The club might bring in a band, dancers, rappers or drama teams; and they can have students or guest speakers share testimonies or a message, as long as the testimony remains in the first person and shares how Christ has changed one person’s life. At Roosevelt High School, a local youth pastor and Roosevelt alumnus spoke about his former identity as a drug dealer while at Roosevelt. In the middle of the quad, he shared how Christ changed his life!
Another way guest speakers can impact the campus would be to speak at a follow-up meeting after a rally. This is a great way to continue conversations that began at the rally, as well as make connections with new Christians who may have accepted Christ recently. Invite them to your church. Getting new Christians plugged into a youth group is critical, as campus Christian clubs do not play the same role as a church does in discipleship.
Also, a youth pastor can encourage the students in the Christian club with a message or with witnessing training at a club meeting. At Esperanza High School, a guest speaker held an apologetics training session with the club during one of their weekly meetings. At Cerritos High School, weekly guest speakers came in and taught about witnessing for a whole month!
2. Go witnessing with students after school.
Generally speaking, campuses are open after the bell rings. You can share Christ with students who are waiting for rides or hanging out after school. The whole club can take part in sharing. It’s a good idea to pair up, especially if some students in the club have never witnessed before.
CSP mentors and high-school students have teamed up during several after-school witnessing days. At Fremont High School, two CSP mentors shared about Christ with a student after school and gave him a Bible. Six months later, one of those mentors was again at Fremont witnessing, and he met the same student who had since become a Christian and was reading the Bible regularly!
3. Provide space for events hosted by the Christian club.
There are all sorts of events the Christian club might want to host off campus. Clubs have hosted prayer retreats, witnessing/leadership training, and outreach concerts at churches.
Carson High School had a church right across the street from campus. The Christian club planned a Christian concert right after school, and several kids made their way across the street. Rappers, actors and speakers shared the message of Jesus with the students.
Another church has hosted students from several schools in the Whittier Unified School District at a weekly leadership forum. Each week, students discussed leadership and club plans, and CSP mentors provided a basic lesson plan and mentoring help.
4. Support the club and its ministry with prayer.
Be proactive; pray over the high schools every week in youth group and in leadership meetings. Does your local high school have prayer days or participate in See You at the Pole? Consider joining them for a prayer meeting.
Some Christians at Esperanza High School wanted to meet for prayer before school once a week but found campus meetings too loud and distracting. Instead, they met at a church before school to pray, and their youth pastor joined them.
You also can start a prayer chain. Get in touch with the Christian club and find out what their prayer requests are. Forward requests to your prayer partners and throughout your whole church. No ministry of Christian clubs or churches can be done without prayer!
5. Consider providing financially for the club.
Rallies are great witnessing tools, but they do require funds to buy the pizzas, provide raffle prizes and publicize. There are several ways to invest financially in your local Christian club. You can donate money, or you can purchase the items they need.
In the past, churches have bought pizza for the rally, Bibles for club members to give to their peers, and Christian tracts for students to use while witnessing. In a unique donation, one church provided a full catered meal for a teachers’ luncheon, which the Roosevelt Christian Club hosted as an outreach to teachers.
What can I do if there is no Christian club on campus?
You can do many of the same things. Time on campus may be limited as the lack of a club probably means no guests are allowed. However, you can still…
• Continue to be in prayer. You can even have prayer meetings outside of school hours with the students. Do prayer walks around the school. Keep a prayer chain going.
• Mentor students in leadership. Invest in the students in your youth group. Encourage them to share Christ with their peers, whether it is in walking up to a total stranger or in talking about their faith with a close friend.
• Take students witnessing or pass out Christian literature. Though some campuses do have restrictions, most will allow witnessing after school even without a Christian club.
• Host events at your church or at the school after school hours. Events hosted at your church are still cool; they just won’t be sponsored by the “Christian club.” One church actually rented a theater on Esperanza’s campus, hosting a burger bash one evening after school and giving publicity to the unofficial Bible study on campus.
Is that all?
Of course not! There are many other creative ways for a Christian club to reach out to others on campus, and there are many other creative ways for you to help them. Continue to pray and brainstorm with the club, and look for the opportunities God provides!
